Liège-Guillemins railway station

Liège-Guillemins railway station (French: Gare de Liège-Guillemins, Dutch: Station Luik-Guillemins, IATA code: XHN) is the main station of the city of Liège, the third largest city in Belgium. It is one of the most important hubs in the country and is one of the 3 Belgian stations on the high-speed rail network. The station is used by 15,000[1] people every day which makes it the eleventh busiest station in Belgium and the third in Wallonia.

Liège-Guillemins
Railway Station
LocationPlace des Guillemins, Liège
Coordinates50°37′29″N 5°34′01″E
Owned byInfrabel
Operated byNational Railway Company of Belgium
Line(s)4, 34, 36, 37, 40, 43, 125
Platforms5
Tracks10
Construction
ArchitectSantiago Calatrava
History
Opened1842-05-01
2009-09-18
Rebuilt2009-09-18
Passengers
20096.26 million
Services
Preceding station   Thalys   Following station
toward Paris-Nord
Thalys
toward Dortmund Hbf
Preceding station   DB Fernverkehr   Following station
ICE 79
towards Frankfurt
Preceding station   SNCB / NMBS   Following station
toward Oostende
IC 01
toward Eupen
Liège-Carré
IC 09
weekends
Terminus
toward Kortrijk
IC 12
weekdays
Angleur
toward Welkenraedt
Liège-Carré
toward Hasselt
IC 13
weekdays
Bressoux
toward Maastricht
TerminusIC 13
weekends
Bressoux
toward Maastricht
toward Quiévrain
IC 14
weekdays
Terminus
Liège-Carré
IC 18
weekdays
Terminus
Flemalle-Haute
toward Mons
IC 25
weekdays
Liège-Carré
toward Liège-Palais
Flemalle-Haute
toward Mouscron
IC 25
weekends
Liège-Carré
toward Liers
Liège-Carré
toward Liers
IC 33
Angleur
toward Luxembourg
Sclessin
toward Namur
L 01Terminus
Liège-Carré
toward Liers
L 15
Angleur
toward Marloie
Liège-Carré
toward Herstal
L 17
Angleur
toward Waremme
L 21
weekdays
Terminus
toward Landen
L 21
weekends
Terminus
Location
Liège-Guillemins
Location in Belgium
Liège-Guillemins
Location in Europe

History
In the 1970s.
In 1905.

In 1838, only three years after the first continental railway, a line linking Brussels and Ans, in the northern suburbs of Liège, was opened. The first railway station of Liège-Guillemins was inaugurated in May 1842, linking the valley to the upper Ans station. In 1843, the first international railway connection was born, linking Liège to Aachen and Cologne.

The station was modernised and improved in 1882 and in 1905 for the World's Fair in Liège. This Beaux-Arts station was replaced in 1958 by a "modern" International style building that was used until June 2009, a few months before the opening of the new Calatrava-designed station. The second station was completely demolished to allow the completion of the remaining sections of the new station.

New station
inside view (2013)

At the end of the 20th century high speed trains were introduced, requiring a new station since the existing platforms were too small. The new station, by the architect Santiago Calatrava, was officially opened on 18 September 2009, with a show by Franco Dragone. It has 9 tracks and 5 platforms (three of 450 m and two of 350 m). All the tracks around the station have been modernised to allow high speed arrival and departure.

The new station is made of steel, glass and white concrete. It includes a monumental arch, 160 metres long and 32 metres high.

The building costs were €312 million.

Services

Liège-Guillemins station is served by InterCity and InterRegio trains, connecting Liège with all major Belgian cities as well as several international destinations such as Aachen, Lille, and Maastricht. In addition to the national trains, Liège-Guillemins station welcomes Thalys and ICE trains, connecting Liège to Brussels, Paris, Aachen, Cologne and Frankfurt. Two new dedicated high-speed tracks were built: HSL 2 (Brussels-Liège) and HSL 3 (Liège-German border).

There are also plans for Eurostar and ICE to link Liège directly to London.

The station is served by the following services:

  • High speed services (Thalys) Paris - Brussels - Liège - Aachen - Cologne - Düsseldorf - Essen - Dortmund
  • High speed services (ICE) Brussels - Liège - Aachen - Cologne - Frankfurt
  • Intercity services (IC-01) Ostend - Bruges - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Liège - Welkenraedt - Eupen
  • Intercity services (IC-09) Antwerp - Lier - Aarschot - Hasselt - Liège (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-12) Kortrijk - Gent - Brussels - Leuven - Liège - Welkenraedt (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-13) Hasselt - Liers - Liège - Visè - Maastricht (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-13) Liège - Visè - Maastricht (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-14) Quiévrain - Mons - Braine-le-Comte - Brussels - Leuven - Liège (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-18) Brussels - Namur - Liège (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-25) Mons - Charleroi - Namur - Huy - Liège (weekdays)
  • Intercity services (IC-25) Mouscron - Tournai - Saint-Ghislain - Mons - Charleroi - Namur - Huy - Liège - Liers (weekends)
  • Intercity services (IC-33) Liers - Liège - Rivage - Vielsalm - Troisvierges - Ettelbruck - Luxembourg
  • Local services (L-01) Namur - Huy - Liège
  • Local services (L-15) Liers - Liège - Esneux - Rivage - Marche-en-Famenne - Marloie
  • Local services (L-17) Herstal - Liège - Pepinster - Verviers
  • Local services (L-21) Waremme - Liege (weekdays)
  • Local services (L-21) Landen - Waremme - Liege (weekends)

The national trains to Brussels also use the high speed track at 200 km/h, while the Thalys and ICE can go up to 300 km/h (bring Brussels at only 39' minutes from Liège).[2]

Road connections

Liège-Guillemins is also a transport hub for TEC Bus: more than 1620 buses, carrying 15,000 people, serve the station every day. It is one of the few railway stations in Europe directly connected to a motorway (E40-E25). The connection gives direct access to the 850-place parking structure, behind the station.[3] No cycling path connection exists between the station and the city.

See also

References
  1. (xls) SNCB Mobility. "Reizigerstellingen 2009" (in Dutch).
  2. Emeric Massaut [@emassaut] (4 September 2012). "t.co/llDePao6" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "Liège Guillemins - P1 : Parking Gare". Retrieved 20 October 2012.

Media related to Liège-Guillemins train station at Wikimedia Commons

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